All across Britain there are ongoing efforts to raise vital funds to offer relief to millions of Turks and Syrians affected by the two devastating earthquakes that struck Turkiye on 6 February.
Among those seeking to help is the Mayor of Southwark, Councillor Sunil Chopra, who has announced that his Mayoral charity dinner will be for the victims of the earthquakes.
The dinner will take place at the Tower Mangal, near Tower Bridge, on Monday, 20 March. Guests will be able to enjoy a delicious 3-course meal (starters, a choice of 1 veg. or non-veg main dish, baklava dessert and some complimentary wine) at the highly rated Turkish restaurant.
The price for the charity dinner is £45 per person, and there will be additional fundraising through a raffle and auction, with all monies raised from the event being used for earthquake relief.
Mayor Sunil Chopra has lived in Southwark for many years, becoming the first Indian-origin councillor to be elected in the South London borough back in 2010.
During his time as a local politician, he has worked closely with the borough’s diverse communities, including those of Turkish heritage.
In 2015, he supported a networking event bringing Turkish brands together with business owners in Southwark. Two years later, Cllr Chopra also helped launch the new International Diversity Festival, to celebrate the borough multi-culturalism, which featured Turkish acts.
Mayor Chopra told T-VINE editor Ipek Ozerim that he was a “great friend of Turkiye”, a country which he has visited several times, and was “keen to help the relief effort for all earthquake victims”.
Spaces for the Southwark Mayoral charity dinner fundraiser are limited, on a first come first serve basis. Full details about the venue and how to book your places or make a donation are given below.
About the 6 February earthquakes
In the early hours of Monday, 6 February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Gaziantep, followed by a second 7.5 earthquake in neighbouring Kahramanmaraş less than ten hours later.
The two earthquakes are the worst in modern Turkiye’s history, killing at least 50,000 people in the region, injuring over 110,000 and leaving millions more displaced.
Ten provinces in Turkiye’s southeast have been impacted by this huge natural disaster, an area that is home to around 14 million people, including around 2 million Syrian refugees.
The calamity has been further exacerbated because the earthquakes struck during the bitterly cold winter months in a region that is already deeply impacted by conflict and poverty.
Thousands have been forced to move to other cities or to makeshift camps, where they lack basic humanitarian needs and vital infrastructure.
Event Details
Title: Emergency Fundraising Charity Dinner in aid of those affected by the Earthquake in Syria & Turkey
Date: Monday 20 March
Start Time: 7pm
Venue: Tower Mangal, 57 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 4TL
Admission: £45 per person. To RSVP your place or for more information, please call Mayor Sunil Chopra on T: 07930 343 360, or email: sunil.chopra@southwark.gov.uk
Tickets and donations: To reserve your place or to make a donation to this year’s charity, please make payment to the Mayor’s Charity Account:
Name: The Mayor of Southwark Charity Appeal
Bank Name: National Westminster Bank
Account No.: 65719239
Sort Code: 51-50-03
Main image, top, includes a picture of Southwark Mayor Sunil Chopra and images from Hatay and Diyarbakır that are part of a larger montage of photos from the Turkish earthquake, via Wikipedia, CC SA 4.0
